Shoe



Nov. 20, 1934.

V D. STARK SHOE Fild Feb. 1'7, 1932 INVENTOR BY W TTOEVEY Patented Nov. 20, 1934 PATENT OFFICE SHOE David Stark,

Arverne, N. Y.

Application February 17, 1932, Serial No. 593,436

1 Claim.

This invention relates to shoes, and provides improvements therein.

The present invention is an improvement upon the invention described and claimed in my Pat 5 ent #1,810,581, dated June 16, 1931.

The present improvement provides means for obtaining greater flexibility in the bottom of a shoe made according tomy patented invention, to give more ease in walking, while maintaining the resistance to the twisting of the shoe in the instep or shank portion of the sole.

Embodiments of the present improvement are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, where- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a reinforcementpiece.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on line II-II, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating a modification of the means shown therein.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view similar to Fig. 2 and illustrating a modification or a second embodiment of the improvement illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. I

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view of a shoe bottom, reproducing Fig. 4 of my patent drawing, and used for explanation in connection with the description.

Referring to said drawing, numeral designates the part herein and in my aforesaid patent, referred toas the tripod reinforcement, and pref erably made of thin sheet-metal. In the drawing, thickness of metal is exaggerated. The part 25 has the contour of the shoe and is placed in the shoe, being preferably built therein. The part 25 is made stiffly resistant to torsion, so as to resist any change in the tripod-points a, b, c (Fig. 5) of the shoe during use. The change occurs when a woman, for example, walks on the outer side of her foot, for any cause. In such case, the heel wears on one side, and shifts off to one side, as more fully explained in my aforesaid patent, so that in such a mis-shapen shoe the tripod points have the position a 1), c, Fig. 5. 45 With a shoe provided with my patented invention the points of the tripod, as illustrated at points a, b, c, Fig. 5, are prevented from shifting when the wearer puts her foot down, and by preserving the relative positions of the tripod points, a, b, c, a shoe is prevented from getting into a mis-shapen condition, as more fully explained in said patent.

In order to provide flexibility in the sole of the shoe for ease in walking, without sacrificing the 55 torsional stiffness hereinbefore referred to, I provide a weakened portion 27 in the part 25, in which the part is weak longitudinally to allow the sole to bend with the foot in walking. In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the weakening is effected by means of slots running transversely, or' ap- 6 proximately so, across said part 25. The weakened portion 27 preferably extends, substantially as shown, from the portion in the sole which bears on the ground to, and somewhat into, the arch or shank portion of the shoe. The weakening may be more concentrated on the portion I adjacent the inside of the foot as shown, and, as shown in Fig. 3 the slots 30 may extend to and. through the edge portion of part 25 on the inside side I, the slots which extend through the said edge, being designated 30.

Another meansof weakening the portion 2'? longitudinally is a plurality of ribs or corrugations or the like running transversely of part 25, similarly to the slots 30.

40, 4'1 designate holes through which nails may be driven to fasten part 25 to the heel, a strong spike or nail running through 40 and well down into the heel of the shoe. 43 designate holes through which nails may be passed for fastening the sole portion of part 25 to the shoe sole.

By the means described, improvement in flexibility for Walking is accomplished, in a shoe provided with means for resisting the displacement of the points a, b, c, Fig. 5, in their tripod relation in a shoe, and thereby preserving the shape of the shoe, according to my aforesaid patent.

The improvements may be embodied otherwise than as herein specifically illustrated and described.

What is claimed is:

A shoe having a metal reinforcement in the bottom thereof of substantially the width of the shoe sole extending from the heel to a position adjacent the little toe on the little toe side, said reinforcement having torsional resistance acting to counteract displacement of the heel of the shoe from its normal position in the tripod relation which it bears to two points in the sole under the little toe and under the ball of the foot, said reinforcement having slots running transversely of said reinforcement under the part of the foot which sustains the weight, and which bends in walking, for imparting longitudinal flexibility while maintaining torsional rigidity, some, at least, of said slots passing through the edge on the inside side.

DAVID STARK. 

